Halloween Surprise?

Halloween always has some surprises. Back when I was growing up in a small Kansas town, I relished the opportunity to pull “tricks” on my friends and classmates. I was the grandson of the local undertaker, so it was invariably a night to pull off some good “tricks” on the unsuspecting. Having been around the mortuary environment most of my younger days, there was eternally opportunities to scare my friends. I had been introduced to caskets, burials, funerals, autopsies, embalming and the like by the age of ten. Now 17, I delighted in conjuring situations to scare the “bajooby” out of any and everyone. I especially enjoyed pulling stunts on a few of the girls in my class. Sue Brown and Cynthia Rosacker were prime candidates this year. Both of these girls were very popular among their peers. Cynthia a.k.a. as “Roz”, was in my Journalism class this year. She was a great student and could type like a professional. I came to envy her skill on the typewriter. She could whip out a story “in a heartbeat”, while I had to use the “hunt and peck system” as I hadn’t taken a typing class. Roz always had extra time on her hands. She was always “bugging” me as I was so slow on the keyboard with my assignments. She was never mean to me or to anyone for that matter, she just kept “stirring the pot” by chatting incessantly. A little of her chatter got to me very quickly. Little did she know she was being set up, by me, for the big scare on Halloween Night! Sue Brown, on the other hand, was one of the quiet ones in our class. She was a good student, quiet and unassuming most of the time. Sue was ahead of her time as an athlete. She could outrun most of the guys in school, however, girls weren’t given the opportunity to play sports for their high school in the 60’s. However, Sue played softball for a local team every summer for as long as I could remember. She was a talented player with great fielding and throwing skills to go along with her blazing speed. She was a joy to watch playing the game of softball. She was a great competitor and it was obvious to all that she hated to lose. She was a bit brassy at times as she never put up with any foolishness from the guys who attempted to tease her at times. Sue was my second candidate for the Halloween Night mischief!

Every year, it seemed, the week of Halloween, many of my friends and classmates would ask me all sorts of questions about my grandfather’s business. He was the local undertaker. Of course I jumped on the opportunity to spread various rumors as they would relate to the city graveyard, caskets, Sleeper’s Mortuary, where my grandfather worked, grave digging and most especially about the old mausoleum at Highland Cemetery. The mausoleum had been closed for a number of years, but it stood, in tact at the western edge of the cemetery. There’s no telling how long this ancient structure had been condemned. It was an old marble and glass building that had out lived its purpose. Most, if not all the remains originally placed there, had been moved and buried in other locations. To my advantage, when I spoke about the mausoleum, none of my friends or classmates were aware of this fact. The mausoleum had aged well, but it still remained a part of the cemetery as a reminder of former burials over the years. This made the telling of ghostly tales indisputable. I loved this fact as no one, except the two local undertakers, had a clue as to why the mausoleum was still a part of the cemetery.

As fate would have it, in October of 1961, I started spreading ghost stories around my high school. I was intent on “hooking a fish” and pull a good practical joke on any and all ignorant souls who would take the “bait.” I didn’t care who, I was itching to spring the noose on someone. Two or three days after I began spinning some outrageous yarns about the mausoleum, I got some interest from Roz Rosacker and Sue Brown. They both came at me to challenge each and every tale I told about the mausoleum. They both adamantly disputed me when I told a story about the mausoleum being haunted. It was one of my best stories as I embellished every aspect of the tale. Roz and Sue took me to task and tried ever so hard to dispute my story and expose me for the charlatan story teller that I was portraying. Aha, the “hook” was set. My heart soared, as I knew the best was yet to follow this Halloween. Basically at this point all that was left to do was to encourage Roz and Sue to show up at the mausoleum some time after dark on Halloween Night. I told them that if they entered the mausoleum it would be but an instant until they found out positively, the old structure was, in fact, haunted.

Halloween Night finally arrived. Just before dark, I slipped into the catacomb. I took and old log chain along for a prop. I also carried a small flashlight just so I didn’t get spooked. I took up a position deep in the burial chamber where I would not be easily seen. I sat and began the long period of waiting. I was waiting to finally pull off the “big scare.” Time passed very slowly that balmy night in October. I ended up waiting for almost two hours. By that time, I had just about given in to the idea that the joke was on me. Had I been left “holding the bag?” At the point of giving up all hope, I heard a car pull up to the front of the crypt. Sure enough, it was the two girls. I recognized their voices. While I was ease dropping on their whispers, I prepared to spring my surprise on the two skeptics entering the mausoleum. I hesitated but a moment or two. I waited just long enough for Roz and Sue to enter the doorway and make their way about ten feet through the dilapidated hallway. It was time to act. I slammed the chain on the marble floor and let out a deep and long whine!!! In an instant both girls screamed at the top of their lungs, spun around and dashed out the exact pathway they had entered the vault. They jumped in the car and sped off. That ended their little adventure for the evening. As for myself, I laughed all the way home. Mission accomplished.

Next day at school both girls approached and asked where I had been the previous night. I kind of put them off by telling them I had spent the night at home. I explained I had gotten into trouble at school that day and my parents made me spend the entire evening with them. It’s funny how things work out when one spins a yarn and completes the “scam” totally. From then on, Roz and Sue honored me with a whole lot more respect than in previous years. I loved it. Truth be known, they never admitted to the encounter nor did they ever disbelieve that the mausoleum was haunted. I will always cherish that experience, why not, the joke wasn’t on me!





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